From the end of the 10th century and for the next eight and a half centuries, a powerful state formation existed in Europe, called the Holy Roman Empire, the composition of which changed several times, but in the era of its highest prosperity it included Central and Northern Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and a significant part of the territory of France. Its history is associated with the name of a prominent political figure of that era - the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who ruled from 1220 to 1250.
Descendant of kings
The famous emperor of the Roman Empire Frederick II came from the genus of Hohenstaufen, whose offspring for several centuries occupied the thrones of various European states. The most prominent representative of this dynasty was his grandfather - Frederick I Barbarossa, whose name Hitler used as the code name for the plan of attack on the USSR.
The father of Frederick II - the king of Germany Henry VI, who sat on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire from 1191 to 1197, also left his mark on history. No less generous was also the mother of the future emperor - Constance of Sicily, who inherited the throne of this Mediterranean state from her father - King Roger II. Thus, it turned out that their son Friedrich Hohenstaufen, who was born on December 26, 1194, should not have any problems in the issue of succession to the throne. However, it was not so simple.
Monarch born in the square
The fact is that the enemies of Henry VI spread a rumor in advance that his wife Constance, who had not been able to conceive during the first 10 years of marriage, was generally barren and, in order to get an heir, pretended to be pregnant. The baby, whom she intends to pass off as her son, will not be born by her, but by another woman, therefore, she will not be able to count on the throne.
The labor pains found Constance in the Italian city of Jesi, into which she drove, heading for her husband, who was then at war in the south of the country. And so, to stop speculation, she stopped not in the castle, but in a tent installed on the square, ordering freely to let any city women who wanted to see the birth of a child come to her. Moreover, when the baby was born, she carried him out of the tent and gave breasts in the presence of many witnesses, showing that she has milk, and therefore, the pregnancy and childbirth are genuine. Here are some unusual circumstances that accompanied the birth of Frederick II - the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Early orphanage
At the age of four, the youngest Friedrich Hohenstaufen was proclaimed king of Sicily and was about to lay the crown of Germany on his baby’s head, but then his father Henry VI died suddenly, and another candidate for the German throne, the uncle of the young heir, Philippe Swabsky, did not fail to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, in November of the same year, 1198, Frederick's mother died.
Remaining an orphan, but nevertheless formally retaining the right to the German throne, the boy became a toy in the hands of various political forces, claiming power in the state. In those years, he still could not independently confront those whose actions provoked a fierce protest in him, however, according to contemporaries, even then he discovered the qualities of the future emperor, which enabled him - Frederick 2 Hohenstaufen - to become one of the most striking historical figures of his time.
Marriage for the love of power
In 1208, when Frederick was barely 14 years old, he was married to the thirty-year-old widow of the Hungarian king - Constance of Aragon. This marriage was nothing more than a political intrigue arranged by Pope Innocent III. The pontiff hoped in this way to take the groom under his control, marrying him a bride from the Aragonese royal house, whose members were his vassals.
However, this turn of events had positive aspects: along with Constance in Palermo, where the groom's residence was located, her brother Alfonso arrived, accompanied by five hundred knights, thanks to whom Frederick was able to restore order in the Sicilian kingdom, whose throne belonged to him from infancy.
The fight for the Roman crown
As mentioned above, Frederick 2 Hohenstaufen by birth could claim the crown of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. He almost received the first in 1198, but this was prevented by the sudden death of his father. The throne was then captured by his uncle Philip of Swabia, and a little later the other applicant, Otton IV of Braunschweig, shared power with him, as a result of which two kings began to rule Germany. Fierce competition was established between them, ending in the murder of Philip and Otto’s excommunication from the church, which, however, did not deprive him of the German crown.
Meanwhile, the next election of the Holy Roman Emperor was approaching, and Pope Innocent III called on the German electors to vote for their protégé, Friedrich Hohenstaufen. In response to this, Otto, who also dreamed of a Roman throne, at the head of a large army invaded the borders of the Sicilian kingdom and began to take city after city in the hope of finally capturing and destroying his rival.
A plot worthy of Hollywood
Perhaps he would have succeeded, but in September 1211 a message came that he was elected by a majority of votes, and in order to be crowned as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick 2, he was obliged to arrive in Germany. In such a situation, fate gave Otton the last chance - to kill his enemy along the way. From that moment on, events began to unfold, as in an action-packed action movie.
Frederick strove to break into Germany at all costs, and all along the way he was awaited by killers sent by Otton. Sometimes they disguised themselves as servants of inns or village blacksmiths, and sometimes openly pursued him with numerous troops. Ambushes were arranged even on hard-to-reach alpine passes. The future emperor had to fight back with a sword and swim to overcome water barriers.
However, the laws of the genre are inexorable - after a series of the most incredible adventures and chases, a happy end must follow. The Sicilian fugitive did not fail his admirers. In December, he safely reached the German city of Mainz, where he was crowned in the cathedral of St. Martin, who had already left as Emperor of the Roman Empire, Frederick II.
Another coronation
However, for complete victory, Frederick still had to ascend to the German throne, which he did a year later, but for this he had to continue the struggle with his main opponent - Otton. Fortunately, he recklessly got involved in the Anglo-French war and in June 1214 was defeated at the Battle of Buvin. For this battle, Emperor Frederick 2 had every reason to thank fate, because after the defeat, his rival permanently abated his political ambitions.
Thanks to this very favorable turn of fate, on July 24 of the same year, he solemnly entered the German city of Aachen, where, according to tradition, the coronation of the German monarchs took place, and took the place on the throne of the founder of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles I the Great (748-814). From now on, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen received the right to bear the title of King of Germany, however, for this he needed the support of Pope Innocent III, to whom he was forced to promise a new Crusade.
Reforms in the Sicilian Kingdom
Having gained full power, the newly-made Roman-German king began active reformist activity, initially extending it only to the territory of Sicily. There he enforced a series of laws that curtailed the rights of local feudal lords and thereby strengthened his own influence, which made him many deadly enemies.
In addition, he extremely tightened the measures that the church took in the fight against heresy, but he did it in a very peculiar way: according to Emperor Frederick the Second, those who opposed his policy should be considered heretics and apostate. They were supposed to be sent to the fire in the first place. However, the tendency to despotism did not prevent him from pursuing a number of progressive reforms, including: the opening of the University of Naples - the first educational institution in Europe, not subordinate to the church, as well as the division of the country into provinces, which improved its administrative management.
Unfulfilled promise
In July 1216, Pope Innocent III died, and a new pontiff, Honorius III, took his place, continuing the work of his predecessor in organizing the next, already 5th Crusade. The goal of this large-scale and extremely expensive enterprise was to strengthen the role of the Catholic Church in all areas of life, as well as to ensure its control over the rebellious Byzantium.
As mentioned above, in order to receive the German crown, Emperor Frederick II promised to take part in the new Crusade, but when he ascended the throne, he shied away from his execution by all possible means. As a result, the troops sent by Honorius III did not wait for the promised reinforcements, and their military expedition failed. Pope laid all blame for the defeat of the crusaders on Frederick, which made relations between them sharply aggravated.
However, the head of the church turned out to be a thin politician and not only hurried to hush up the scandal, but also made a very far-sighted move. The fact is that in 1222, Frederick's wife, Constantius, died, and the pontiff married him to the 11-year-old daughter of the King of Jerusalem, John de Brienne, because in this case he could really count on the organization of the VI Crusade. This marriage took place in November 1225, after which Frederick II of Hohenstaufen added himself another title, this time the King of Jerusalem.
Participation in the VI Crusade
The history of the rule of this subtle but extremely ambitious politician is filled with endless strife with the leaders of the Catholic Church. Fate alternately pushed him with three of them. In 1227, after the death of Honorius III, his successor Gregory IX ascended to the holy throne, who immediately attended to the organization of the next Crusade.
Without changing his tradition, Frederick 2 Hohenstaufen again promised not only material assistance in the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher, but also his personal participation in it. However, this time he also considered it a blessing to stay at home. An angry pontiff excommunicated him from the church. Looking ahead, we note that in its lifetime, this monarch safely survived three excommunications, after which each time he returned to the fold of Catholicism.
Once again, he earned forgiveness in 1229, when, together with the participants of the VI Crusade, he nevertheless went to the Holy Land. His path ran through Egypt, and there, having successfully negotiated with Sultan al-Kamil, Emperor Frederick 2 managed to secure the transfer of not only Jerusalem, but also Nazareth and Bethlehem to the Christian guardianship. Upon arrival at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, he laid the crown of the King of Jerusalem on his head, removing the father of John de Brienne from the throne of his father-in-law, but his rule was only nominal.
Confrontation of the German princes
Having returned from the Crusade and having settled relations with Rome, Frederick II Hohenstaufen arrived in Germany and faced with a problem that could not but arise due to his long absence. It consisted of the fact that he entrusted the rule of the country to his son Henry, who was still at a young age and for this reason did not enjoy influence among the local princes. As a result, they managed to pass through the Reichstag a series of laws that limited royal power.
Wanting to rectify the situation, the young heir to the throne entered into an open confrontation with them, sometimes leading to armed clashes. By this, he not only did not correct the situation, but to a large extent set up German chivalry and the petty bourgeoisie against his father. To restore peace, Emperor Frederick 2 was forced to openly take the side of the princes, and imprison his unreasonable offspring in prison, where he died in February 1242.
Sad ending
The last years of the emperor’s life were overshadowed by a continuous series of troubles that began after he removed his closest adviser, Pierre de Vigna, from work in 1249. This was a man who was infinitely loyal to him and more than once helped in resolving the most complex issues. Without him, Frederick 2 Hohenstaufen committed many rash acts. In the same year, enemies made an attempt to poison him by bribing a personal doctor for this purpose, and only a fluke prevented the implementation of their plans.
The events were particularly dramatic after the rebellion in the Sicilian kingdom began. Having personally arrived to participate in pacifying the rebels, Frederick almost turned out to be their captive and, having lost most of his troops, was forced to flee from his subjects. But his troubles did not end there. Soon after the heir to the throne, Henry, who he had planted there, died, fate took away his two more sons - Enzo and Richard, one of whom was captured and executed by the rebels, and the other died on the battlefield.
Mysterious death
However, Frederick II Hohenstaufen himself had only a few months left to live. In early December 1250, while hunting in the vicinity of the Italian city of Torremaggiore, in which one of his residences was located, the monarch suddenly felt an unbearable pain in his stomach, which soon intensified so much that he could hardly stop the scream.
Delivered to the castle, he found the strength in himself only to sign a will, and for the next few days lay unconscious. The emperor died on December 12, 1250. It is generally accepted that death occurred as a result of dysentery, but historians have serious reasons to doubt this diagnosis and suspect intentional poisoning. By the way, a similar version was voiced immediately after the death of the emperor, and his son Manfred was called as the culprit.
The memoirs of contemporaries are preserved in which they described the appearance of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, but their evidence is extremely contradictory. If you believe one, he was short, shortsighted, bald and at the same time had a body covered with thick red hair. Others claim that the emperor had a good appearance and looked like a respectable, well-built man of medium height. This question will probably remain open since there are no intravital images of the monarch.